Budget Alchemy Lab

[woodlouse]

I am looking for a simple set up to begin some alchemy lab work, but the problem is the only equipment i can find is quite expensive for what it really is.

I have read a few books on alchemy and none of them really say much about the equipment or where to get it. I dont plan on making anything complex or really potent so a really primitive set-up would be fine.

It must be possible after all because in the dark ages there were alchemists working away in secretive places in a time before glass blowing was fully understood. Any advice?

[chris]

Lol, why are you asking this question here? People don’t know about alchemy here, they just post the odd 17 century recipe they don’t understand in order to look knowledgeable.

To answer your question, I started out by looking for stuff on e-bay but I could never find the right flasks in the right sizes and wasted a bit of money buying stuff that I didn’t really use.

What I suggest is to contect a lab supplier and ask them to fix you up with a setup you want. It may cost a hundred pound or so but you’d be sorted out for quite some time while you tech up to more advanced stuff.

I take it your going to start on the spagyrical path. If not, then I really doubt you’ll get anywhere and it will be extremely difficult and expensive.

Phone or email a lab supplier, explain that you want to practice some organic chemistry but you don’t know exactly what you want. Send them this picture minus the bunsen burner but ask for conical flasks instead of the round bottom flask as you can use them on kitchen heatpads. Ask for anti-bumping granules also.



Then you can improvise on the other stuff. Crucibles can be pots and you can make incubators or buy really cheap thermal things, scientific incubators are ridiculously expensive and all they do is create a temperature which can hatch an egg, big deal.

A very good tip for you is to get glass jars but make sure they are air tight by using vaseline on the lid, I found this out the hard way as a lot of my mercury seeped out over the months where it is coagulating.

Also get a book on organic chemistry and read through the very basic description of how to distil something. The biggest mistake I made was that I failed to do this, so I broke a fraction condenser and several thermometers as I was making my distillation train vacuum tight yet I was not pumping out the extra pressure that was accumulating inside.

You really don’t need to make your train air-tight for the spagyrical work. Sure, you may need to distil your mercury a few more times but the stuff you create can still be of very high quality.

Hope this helps.

[woodlouse]

You seem to know alot and i have read a few of your posts. But im still too broke for £100 and distillation traisn usually cost that alone or more.

But i have Organic Chemistry for dummies and Frater Albertus Alchemical Handbook. I dont plan on using mercury or any quite harmfull metals just herbals.

I seem to have a better grasp of alchemy and planets relating to herbs and the effect, than say chemistry.

So far i have only experience in crude alkaloid extractions, some acid and bases work and i THINK i made my own calcium oxide from chicken eggshell.

There must be a simple way to set up a very basic distillation set even if it means constructing a sort of mini-still.

[loveisthelaw]

Originally Posted by woodlouse

I am looking for a simple set up to begin some alchemy lab work, but the problem is the only equipment i can find is quite expensive for what it really is.

I have read a few books on alchemy and none of them really say much about the equipment or where to get it. I dont plan on making anything complex or really potent so a really primitive set-up would be fine.

It must be possible after all because in the dark ages there were alchemists working away in secretive places in a time before glass blowing was fully understood. Any advice?

The best bet is to buy beakers and the likes off ebay, search for chemistry set gear. I spent a long time trying to find alchemy specific items and failed. It is easier and cheaper to buy chemistry set pieces and build it that way. When I was looking to make tinctures, etc, this is what I did. All you need is heat proof beakers, a little camping stove and some filters / tubes (to start)

[chris]

I'm afraid that in order to practice alchemy, there is an initial startup cost which is very difficult to avoid. I'm sure you can find bits and bobs around the place. If you know any lab technicians who work at schools maybe they could fix you up something.

Try having a look through these and see if you can come up with your distillation train, the problem is that many of them don't have their sizes labelled so you need to ask them to make sure they are all compatible. Look for quickfit glassware also.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nk....c0.m270.l1313

If not, can't you do a paper round or something for a few weeks to save up?

[woodlouse]

Some really great and cheap glassware there. Would there be any difference between a Liebig condenser and a Graham?

The only trouble as you say would be getting the right parts that fit. Ill post back once i have the equipment.

Thanks for the help

[chris]

not really, I have both, just go for the cheapest.

A thing you will also need to think about is how you will pump water through the condensor. I use a small fishpond pump in a large bucket, you gotta make sure you refresh the water though as it warms up and becomes useless. If you can hook it up to your tap then that's fine also, probably better (if you don't mind wasting water) as it won't warm up.

[woodlouse]

Proud new owner of a Original Quickfit brand distillation Rig.

2x 250cc round bottom flasks
1x 200mm Liebig condenser
1 x Splash head
1 x Vented receiver adaptor

19/26 joints throughout.

£30.99

[shinobishaw1982]

I never understood why some people think Alchemy's true purpose is in the external world with the work done in an actual laboratory when Alchemy was always meant to be an internal science.

True Alchemy has to do with inner work and it is seldom physical and has nothing to do with the physical world but with the workings of inner essence.

Even if Alchemy were to be taken in a secondary meaning, which means a physical science, then it would not just be simply experiments by a novice in a set up lab but rather what people today might call 'Black Projects...'

[chris]

Originally Posted by woodlouse

Proud new owner of a Original Quickfit brand distillation Rig.

2x 250cc round bottom flasks
1x 200mm Liebig condenser
1 x Splash head
1 x Vented receiver adaptor

19/26 joints throughout.

£30.99

wow, nice...

Did you get them off ebay?

Just curious, what kind of heat source are you going to use?

What experiments are you going to try first?

Originally Posted by shinobishaw1982

I never understood why some people think Alchemy's true purpose is in the external world with the work done in an actual laboratory when Alchemy was always meant to be an internal science.

True Alchemy has to do with inner work and it is seldom physical and has nothing to do with the physical world but with the workings of inner essence.

Even if Alchemy were to be taken in a secondary meaning, which means a physical science, then it would not just be simply experiments by a novice in a set up lab but rather what people today might call 'Black Projects...'

Dude, you don't have a clue. Stop pretending to be some sort of authority by correcting those interested with little semantical arguments.

Just because this guy is interested in laboratory alchemy, doesn't mean that he is not interested in inner alchemy. Besides, the medicines you make in the lab once taken are absorbed by your body and the processes that happened to that stone or elixir become part of your inner alchemical transformation. Also the processes you practice while you make a stone, are symbolic and that also plays on the inner being.

If your so into inner alchemy, why don't you do something positive and start some threads describing some alchemical meditations instead of derailing other peoples?

[posidon]

Hello,


1- What path you want to follow?
2- what is your budget?
3- you want alchemy or spagyrics?


I suggest you start with a flask and alembic, the alembic is a little expensive, but cost about 100€. Then you will need a heat source, and since i don´t think you pretend to use coal and an Athanor lol, i suggest you buy a cheap water bath in Ebay, with temperature range from 0 to 100ºC, you can find excellent deals in German Ebay, look for Memmert or Julabo brands, good quality products, i have one of both.

Well to put this simple, i don´t suggest you use a modern distillation apparatus, they aren't good to the GW, if you want follow the old ways, a retort or an alembic 1000ml size is the best.

You will need for start:

• heat source, a water bath or a heating mantle, you may try a crop pot with good results as well with some modifications, if your budget is low, or even a wax warmer. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WAX-HEATER...ht_7705wt_1396 i guess a 500ml flask feats here, but i'm not sure a 1000ml feat. or this type http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heating-Ma...item3cb11c3fb7 or if your budget is really low, so use a spirit burner.
• a retort or alembic 500ml or 1000ml http://www.ebay.de/itm/Destille-Glas...#ht_500wt_1180
• 2 round bottom flask, with a ground joint of 45/40 (i like them large)
• 1 receiving vessel for the distillate the same size of your main flask
• 1 or 2 stands with some clamps http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-SMALL-...#ht_562wt_1396
• mortar and pestle ( i suggest a marble one) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pestle-and...item4844bcb1aa
• a few glass bottles with glass stopper various sizes (50ml, 100ml, 250ml, 500ml) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-CHEMIST-...#ht_500wt_1413
• pipettes http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-ml-Glas...#ht_500wt_1413
• one or two beakers

• And the most important of all, safety gear, glasses, or full protection face mask and gloves, trust me by experience i know this is the most important gear you need to have, when you start blowing things you will understand.

And this the basic stuff you need for herbal tinctures or other paths, then you can purchase a few more things is always good to have more then we need, and is a lot of fun to , eventually you will start to realize what is your real needs and what you can do or not with your equipment, and you will start to adapt the glassware and even invent techniques and at last you will start demanding custom made glassware like i do.

Source for alembics, and other glassware http://www.neubert-glas.de/
All alchemy stuff you will need, they send worldwide Thomas is the owner and he speak fluent English http://mobiwell.com/alchemie
Read this book for more detailed info, is an excellent path for beginners: http://www.thebookofaquarius.com/

Good luck

Posidon

[shinobishaw1982]

Dude, you don't have a clue. Stop pretending to be some sort of authority by correcting those interested with little semantical arguments.

Just because this guy is interested in laboratory alchemy, doesn't mean that he is not interested in inner alchemy. Besides, the medicines you make in the lab once taken are absorbed by your body and the processes that happened to that stone or elixir become part of your inner alchemical transformation. Also the processes you practice while you make a stone, are symbolic and that also plays on the inner being.

If your so into inner alchemy, why don't you do something positive and start some threads describing some alchemical meditations instead of derailing other peoples?

Regardless of the intention, it is still left-hand folly to do Alchemical work from the outer to the inner instead of the inner to the outer, no one here is correcting anything, I am just stating the facts.

Also please drop the personal jabs, saying things like "Dude you don't have a clue" just debases your argument and makes you look childish.

The problem here is that you strike me as being the kind of person who does not like being challenged or questioned which is not the attitude to bring when we are talking about these subject matters, be obective and don't take it personal.

[chris]

It's just statements like saying practical alchemy is folly makes you sound ignorant.

So let’s make this very easy and I want you to answer it in a way that a child can understand…

What’s your own personal background and practical undertakings with alchemy?

Exactly why is it folly to supplement inner alchemy with practical alchemy?

[chris]

Originally Posted by posidon

• And the most important of all, safety gear, glasses, or full protection face mask and gloves, trust me by experience i know this is the most important gear you need to have, when you start blowing things you will understand.

Ye lol, heed these words

[shinobishaw1982]

It's just statements like saying practical alchemy is folly makes you sound ignorant.

I never said 'practical Alchemy' (which is the wrong terminology to use here as Spiritual Alchemy can also be 'practical' when it becomes manifest) is folly. I said that a left-hand approach to Alchemy which is from the outer to the inner instead of the inner to the outer is at its core and end result folly. I never said 'practical Alchemy' which is what you really meant to say was Material Alchemy was foolish.

Exactly why is it folly to supplement inner alchemy with practical alchemy?

Once again, I never said it was folly to 'supplement inner alchemy with practical Alchemy,' I said that it was folly to approach Alchemy from a left-hand path perspective i.e. from the outer to the inner instead of the inner to the outer.

What’s your own personal background and practical undertakings with alchemy?

I have first hand experience with Spiritual Alchemy for several years now, working from within and flourishing without (i.e. from the inner work of Alchemical Meditations to the Outer Unveiling of Supernal Understanding).

Spiritual Alchemy is not merely a meditative state (though this aspect is its beginning stages) rather it is an awakening or illumination that is possible in the Higher Soul and the communion thereof. This is preparing the physical veil on the path of the Great Work of Transmutation and the TRUE elixir of Life which is Higher Unveiling and Heavenly understanding (this would not include Divine Understanding since that was part of the Inner Illuminated State).

As Spiritual Alchemy has transformed some of my Alchemical Baser Metals into refined Alchemical Gold it too has reflected onto the Physical Veil of Human Consciousness and it has expressed itself as ART, Higher Nature, and continous higher preparation for the Great Work.

The Great Work is quite an achievement and lifelong process indeed and there will be quite more preparations and Alchemical Combinations before it is acomplished (unless of course The Spirit One ALL brings a Universal Change to the Manifested Universe before that can occur).

Spiritual Alchemy demolishes the Physical Vesture of any individual Consciousness and and raises it to yet higher inner planes of Being. This is what the Great Work is truly about.

Think of it as what an Alchemist once said......

"Potassium thrown upon water, becomes ignited and accepts the embrace of the Hydroxil Radicle"

Indeed!

[chris]

So basically, you have absolutely no experience of how strongly stones or elixirs work on the psyche, yet also mistakenly assume that those who are into making these things neglect the other aspects of alchemy…If not, what’s the point of your ramblings?

Anyway, alchemy isn’t just to be worked from the inner to outer (although it certainly can be), ideally it’s also worked from outside to inner. “That which is above is from that which is below, and that which is below is from that which is above, working the miracles of one.”

[shinobishaw1982]

So basically, you have absolutely no experience of how strongly stones or elixirs work on the psyche, yet also mistakenly assume that those who are into making these things neglect the other aspects of alchemy…If not, what’s the point of your ramblings?

Because a true Alchemist does not need material enhancers or elements to find the Elixir and the Stone, he can make them at Will. That is what you don't seem to understand, the Elixir and the Stone can be made from the very Will of the initiate. This is why Material Alchemy in essence is a distraction rather then any true Alchemical mixture.

The Alchemist has everything he needs within himself, the elements, the Elixir and the Philosopher's Stone, he needs nothing in the outer form.

You seem to be so fixated upon the shadow without grasping the Substance behind it.

There is a reason Alchemy is an occult Art and not merely a science, as I said before Alchemy as a material practice has been surpassed by Modern Science and has been rendered as an archaic practice.

True Spiritual Alchemy is still far-reaching and remote to most people simply because the Royal Marriage needs to be enacted before any Spiritual Alchemy can be done.

Again, looking back at the above quote I posted, it is very much related to Inner Marriages.....

"Potassium thrown upon water, becomes ignited and accepts the embrace of the Hydroxil Radicle"

Think about that for a moment.....

Anyway, alchemy isn’t just to be worked from the inner to outer (although it certainly can be), ideally it’s also worked from outside to inner. “That which is above is from that which is below, and that which is below is from that which is above, working the miracles of one.”

Outer to the Inner is not true Alchemy and never will be, in some cases it can even be Left-Hand Path Magick or Science but certainly not True Alchemy for that belongs to the Inward Path and the Outer Birth thereof.

Finally the term "As Above, So Below" has (like many things of this kind) been taken at face value or completely misunderstood.

"As Above, So Below" actually means from the Inward (Above, as in Above the Physical Earthly Plane) to the Outer (the Physical Manifested Universe) and not the erroneous meaning of Above (Outer Space, the manifested Universe) to the Below (Planetary or Human Microcosmic). So it relates to the Inner-Outer rather then the Outer-Inner.

One last comment....

Judging from your last post where you continue to make erroneous extrapolations and conclusions you have proven my suspicions from the beginning and that this is really all about your fragile ego (your personal jabs definitely prove that you're coming from the base of the ego and not being objective), this is the wrong principle to bring in an objective conversation. I say this based upon your continous personal imaginings and false conclusions.

You should know that no true Alchemist (really the Occultist or Adept) that I know of ever approaches spritiual discussions from such a fragile egoic state, they are highly objective balanced individuals yet without losing the fire of Bacchus within them.

[the nail]

What's wrong with doing some experiments extracting oils from herbs etc if it is done with adequate safety and research? Is it ok to make a tincture? Or is it only ok if you don't call it alchemy? Is medicine ok? Or should all healing be undertaken from the inner toward the outer? How about eating? Is that LHP folly?

I don't know heaps about it... I'm certainly no expert. But it seems to me like no matter which perspective you look at it from (quantum/religious/western philosophical/newtonian materialistic/spiritual/eastern philosophical/magickal) the root of the "Adepts" consciousness is an ever flowing two way self referencing loop (a figure eight is a good metaphor - except in 4d) in which "consciousness" (or the fire of baccus as you call it) is the point in the middle of the figure eight where that which moves outward and that which moves inward meet and are perfectly aware of themselves and eachother in that/those moment/s?

Some people might call this the middle path.... I don't know about that. I think dogma can be a real bitch but.

Generally I would recommend erring on the side of the positive (doing) rather than the negative (not doing) as long as in doing so you aren't harming other people/lifes or restricting their freedoms (or that of your own).

[shinobishaw1982]

What's wrong with doing some experiments extracting oils from herbs etc if it is done with adequate safety and research? Is it ok to make a tincture? Or is it only ok if you don't call it alchemy? Is medicine ok? Or should all healing be undertaken from the inner toward the outer? How about eating? Is that LHP folly?

I don't think anyone here (including myself) said that the toxicology and natural science that chris was alluding to in his "Alchemical experimentations" is foolish, I personally and certainly can't call it Alchemy in its purest sense of the word. Rather it belongs to Science and there is nothing wrong with experimenting with Natural items and creating formulas and tools or enhancers.

But this practice really lies in the realm of Natural Science or Holistic Health and not Alchemy (in its pure sense).

The True Alchemist which holds the Power of the Keys can heal himself and live in all ranges of his constitution for what appears to the natural mind as endless duration, furthermore the Alchemist can create (at Will) The Elixir of Life.

Even greater the accomplishment of the Great Work will render any material science or practice useless because at that point it becomes irrelevant, of course by the time the Alchemist (the Occultist, The Mystic, The Yogi, The Magus, whatever you want to call it) even comes close to that great attainment he will rarely need any nourishment or aid from an outside source.


The only outer requirement at that point that he does not need yet strongly desires is Love for All Beings, that strong desire will never die. But a Human Being in his most exalted state is completely self-sufficient and Self-Sustainable (eating becomes a savoring gusto or even in higher degrees completely nullified.)

Generally I would recommend erring on the side of the positive (doing) rather than the negative (not doing) as long as in doing so you aren't harming other people/lifes or restricting their freedoms (or that of your own).

I do agree with this, Restricition and Division being the strongest of the Selfish path, however Left-Hand Path Magick can indeed fall into Folly really easily and often times people do far more harm then good following their lower personal desires then the Desire of the Sublime Cosmic ALL.

I don't know heaps about it... I'm certainly no expert. But it seems to me like no matter which perspective you look at it from (quantum/religious/western philosophical/newtonian materialistic/spiritual/eastern philosophical/magickal) the root of the "Adepts" consciousness is an ever flowing two way self referencing loop (a figure eight is a good metaphor - except in 4d) in which "consciousness" (or the fire of baccus as you call it) is the point in the middle of the figure eight where that which moves outward and that which moves inward meet and are perfectly aware of themselves and eachother in that/those moment/s?

I do agree with this as well, Consciousness is like a Snake that bites itself (Uroboros) with no beginning or end, though Consciousness is just the active part of Spirit (Universal Being).

Consciousness however truly becomes exalted when it experiences Total Self-Consciousness alongside the Great Work of Transmutation, then indeed we have met the real Adept Philosopher/Occultist/Alchemist.

[posidon]

Usually i don´t like to have this type discussions because everyone have their own opinion, what need to be respected! I know by experience that this don´t leave anywhere, and end up wit egoistic fights just that!

Here no one is doing alchemy, not even me face it, we are doing what Fulcanelli call "Archemy" or "Spagyrics" not the "Sacred Science called Alchemy". Those that fail to interpreter the words of the old masters, taking them literally and even so ending up to discover incredible things, sometimes even half side of the coin, and from those chemistry and science evolve for what we know today, the same ones that discredit Alchemy, because they simple don´t understand it, so is easier to deny something then to try to understand it.

There is two kinds of Alchemy, liked or not, there is a inner and spiritual alchemy, the alchemy of the adepts, the one that allow you to know yourself, and explore and awake your hidden senses, the Microcosmos. And there is a more practical Alchemy, one that obeys the simple laws of Natures, one that recreate and accelerate the natural laws, and only know to the Masters or the initiates, the Macrocosmos, and the two are inseparable, like the sea serpent Oroboros, because in fact they are only one.

I sugest that you guys open your mind to this lesson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WO2rT8M8OI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WO2rT8M8OI

Posidon